Best and worst things about retirement

Best things:

-no early rises and no commute - especially in winter

-enjoyed my job but don't miss the stress. Lucky to meet up with ex-colleagues quite often.

-time for hobbies, days out, nice lunches, voluntary work and more recently looking after grandchildren.

- no state pension until next year but lucky enough to be comfortable with DH's pensions and savings.

Worst bits:

Health issues gradually creeping in. I now have one of those pill-counter boxes.

DH hasn't really made much of his retirement in terms of hobbies, etc. If we spend a lot of time together he can be a bit of a mansplainer and likes to "supervise" me when his expertise is often less than mine. It does irritate me sometimes.

Yes there’s a lot of us Waspi’s out there. A massive outrage for women in this country.
Am 64 and still working (can’t afford not to) managed to cut my hours a little but still have to cover holidays etc. Would love to retire now.

Best
Been retired 5 years and love it no more stress or pressure to hit ever increasing targets.
No more commutes leaving home in the dark and arriving back in the dark.
Lots of time with grandchildren.
Spending time on hobbies and doing what I want is bliss.
Meeting up with DH on Fridays as we have different interest we keep this day for us.
Going to the cinema in the afternoon.

Worst
Less money but now avid ebayer great bargains and amazed at what people will buy!
Having to wait another 6 years for state pension.
People who ask what do you do all day?

Best
Not having to get up at 6 am
Staying in bed in the winter and only going out when I have/want to.
Not having to attend meetings/office 'dos' or socialising with people I don't like
Having my holidays when I want them rather than having to fit in with colleagues
Having money going into the bank for doing nothing.
Free bus and local train travel
No office bitchiness
No worrying about having made a mistake at work
No dreading going back in after a holiday
Worst
Can't think of anything.

I retired 18 years ago when I was 55. We had a wonderful 15 years in Spain and have been back in the UK 2 years. Since coming back I have suffered from a lack of purpose. However, we have today adopted our little rescue dog from Romania who is already great fun. We have also just bought a small holiday home in Spain so life will be full again.

Every Sunday evening I still thank goodness there is no work in the morning and still have anxiety dreams about work.

On the whole though I think this might be the best time of my life. OK, finances are more stretched and there are the aches and pains of aging, but the freedom is wonderful.

I don’t mind working, but I absolutely hate driving to work, and driving home in the dark.

Best - being able to retire at 60, having belonged to a public sector pay scheme for 37 years (not something you think about when you start work). I no longer have to commute to and from London Bridge during rush hour any more and I’ve rediscovered what it’s like to have daytime activities like tennis, walking and libraries.

I’ve yet to discover any minuses and cannot understand why people in the same situation as me are still working.

Retired four years ago when state pension kicked in. Best: Freedom. My time is my own to do whatever I choose. There are no deadlines, no commuter trains, no stress, no endless e-mails, no firefighting on a daily basis at work. I can spend real quality time with my friends and do whatever interests me. Worst: havent found anything yet and long may it continue.

Best:
Being around for my family whenever they need me.
Spending time with my husband without having to worry about him having to rush off to work at the drop of a hat.

Worst:
Time just rushes by.
Not having quite as much money as we had before so we can't always do everything we want to.

The best thing by far for me is not having to force myself in to work when I am feeling really unwell. As a teacher with exam classes I forced myself in even when really ill. Now if I feel ill I have the luxury of staying in bed. Everything else is a bonus.

I'm semi-retired, so my wife tells me. I'm a computer dealer and supply kit and support to clients, mainly small businesses and individuals who have hair similar colour to mine.

Likes : continued involvement with people while having time for family.

Disadvantages: not being stretched enough and daytime TV is frightful. Plus I have essential tremors, which is deteriorating fairly rapidly and may force my complete retirement if the specialist doesn't all his finger out

Good things: spending time with husband ,time to help my family with childcare for my lovely grandchild. Not having to get up at crazy hours in the morning to commute to work. Time to read and study,take part in a class. Go one or 2 holidays without having to battle for time off. Not having to go out when weather is really bad. Growing veg and gardening.
Bad things : no state pension for 10 years(67) my forecast is. Health issues for myself have really kicked off since menopause, including an autoimmune condition which is difficult to manage. Husband has health issues. Miss work camaraderie and company, but definitely not the job.Finding household chores a bit more difficult due to health issues. Used to do alot of things which I now cannot. Health has been the biggest bugbear for me. Never out the surgery/hospital for about the last 4 years.

Best
Never having to get up in the morning. If I have a sleepless night or feel ill I don't have the added worry of dragging myself to work.
Sunny days in winter. In those short dark days I used to feel like a mole going to work in the dark and common and coming home after dark.
Worst
Boredom.
My health has spoiled or prevented many of the things I wanted to do.
No pension at 60 as I had expected.

Best
Freedom to choose all be it on a more limited income than planned. Ability to write : my time...in my diary and have it to do what I want.
Worst
The use of the word ..I
My husband died suddenly 18 months after we retired.
My advice: enjoy your retirement but make the most of time you have before too and retired or not ...do something to make YOU happy every day...however small....you deserve it.

Nannah, awfully sorry about your husband. I know an awful lot of couples this has happened to.

Bathsheba

Some areas issue bus pass / concessionary travel permits at 60. Off the top of my head, they are Merseyside, Wales and London area. Other areas only issue at state pension age.

Love not being tied to a timetable, getting up when I like and being able to do things on the spur of the moment. Not many negatives other than having to wait another seven years until I get my pension and sometimes my hubby turning into the archetypal grumpy old man way too soon. Not having enough money to do the travelling I long to do .

Thanks for all the scam/spam call blocking suggestions, however the vast majority rely on caller display which is no good for my husband who is blind, plus our landline doesn't have a caller display feature anyway. Also a friend who has caller display says a lot of scam calls use this to circumvent them
www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/problems/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages/phone-spoof-scam

We did have BT call minder but when we retired it's one of the things we ditched to save money, particularly as one of us is nearly always at home these days.

Bathsheba,
Re bus pass.

I live on Merseyside, we are eligible for free local travel on buses, trains and the Mersey Ferry.
We have some fabulous places to visit in our area. There are lovely beaches including West Kirby, New Brighton, Southport, Formby & Ainsdale. We have museums and Art galleries galore, beautiful picturesque villages - Churchtown, Woolton, Hale, Oxton - to name just a few.
The City of Liverpool has the most fantastic architecture, beautiful buildings are everywhere from the spectacular St Georges Hall to the oldest Victorian 'lock-up' complete with cells!
I will get my National Bus pass in another 5 years but I've got plenty of exploring to do in the mean time!

Retired 2 years and loving it. Had to wait 3y 2m (which really p*d me off) but my friend told me that life expectancy has increased from 5y post-retirement age - when the pension was first thought of - to around 20 years. So I thought that was fair enough.

Best thing - time. Not having to be somewhere at a specific time.
Worst thing - income halved (but have moved & lower rent so not too badly off).

And at least NI stops at age 60 - at least, it did when I reached that age!

Dollydinkum. You can get a travel pass at 60 in the London area but it costs. You can't get a Freedom Pass until you're 68 (or thereabouts, can't remember exact age).

LondonGranny
It might be Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Merseyside that have earlier access to some type of free travel from age 60, rather than the female state pension age that other areas now tend to use. Different rules are applied to different areas. It’s so confusing ? isn’t it? I got my bus / tram pass when I reached SPA which I can use locally and I think it can be used throughout England, albeit with time restrictions, but I’m not certain about that. I’ve only used mine twice and I felt quite privileged

I posted the following in reply to the question “how to prepare for retirement” I think it shows what is good for me about retirement and there are NO negatives.
I have been retired for 22 years I am now 74.
It was not by choice as I was “paid to go away” as they say. However I knew it was coming for about a year.
I had worked away very very often and getting used to each other was the first challenge. This we solved by having different interests, not doing everything together but coming together when we chose to.
The second issue can be that we are defined by our jobs/career/profession and saying you are retired can feel strange to say for a while.
Thirdly you must give yourself permission to do nothing. Trying not to feel guilty about reading a book for an hour in the middle of the morning or watching some mindless daytime TV. Remember it’s your time and YOU (with your partner) decide how to spend it.
My final piece of advice is life is short and GOOD HEALTH should not be taken for granted.
Don’t put off to tomorrow what you are fit enough to do today.
Finally. In 22 years I have no been bored. I constantly wonder how I had time to work. But. Please note my third point.